Chester holds special Thanksgiving dinner to honor veterans

Chrystal Everett gets more yams during Thanksgiving meal for veterans given by the Ministerial Fellowship of Chester and Vicinity, National Congress of Black Women and the Chester City Recreation Department on Wednesday. (Times Staff / JULIA WILKINSON)

CHESTER — Ramona Goff sat at a table inside the city’s Community Center with a smile on her face Wednesday afternoon.

She was one of many city residents who attended a special Thanksgiving dinner event for local veterans. Her late husband, George Goff, served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.

So what would her husband have said if he was there with her at the luncheon?

“He would have said, ‘It was an honor to be honored,’” Goff said. “And he would have said, ‘A job well done.’”

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“I think that it’s an inspiration to people who served who are here,” she said about the event. “Anybody appreciates being remembered.”

Duane Lee, the city’s deputy director of recreation, said this was the first year the city had an event like this for veterans on Thanksgiving. He said the city was prepared to feed 200 people but he didn’t anticipate that many would show up due to the cold, rainy weather Wednesday.

City Councilwoman Elizabeth Williams said the National Congress of Black Women organization donated the Thanksgiving dinners. The city provided the Community Center room in City Hall along with the entertainment. The music was performed by Harry Jackson and the Full Effect Band and Tyra Starr.

“We, the city of Chester, appreciate all veterans and we appreciate them putting their lives on the line and fighting wars all across the world and keeping peace,” she said. “We love them.”

Rosetta Carter, president of the National Congress of Black Women, said many times people forget that when veterans return home, they are disabled, have emotional scars or are homeless.

“We are excited to be able to do this for the veterans,” she said.

State Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, D-159, of Chester, said a prayer, which included some singing, before the meal.

“Being one who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s who saw how Vietnam veterans were treated, we need to do more of this and never take for granted what was done for us to secure our freedom,” said The Rev. William “Rocky” Brown III of Bethany Baptist Church.

Several of the veterans who were at the event expressed gratitude toward city officials.

“I think it’s a great thing,” said Irving Lawrence, who was a corporal in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. “Kids today don’t know what we went through.”

Lawrence said these types of events make veterans proud because they help people understand what veterans went through, he said.

“I tell you, it’s rewarding to me,” said Fred Cox, a U.S. Army veteran who served in the Vietnam War. “Those Vietnam veterans are kind of forgotten. It’s nice that somebody is thinking about us.”

Richard Carter, a U.S. Army veteran who served during the Vietnam War, currently assists a Pennsylvania Department of Corrections employee with a program that assists homeless veterans and veterans who are leaving prison. Carter said honoring veterans is great any day, especially on Thanksgiving.